How Cigarettes Helped Win World War II

Starting in 1941, cigarettes were officially designated a “necessity of war” by the US War Department. Every soldier’s K-ration included a small pack of cigarettes — typically four cigarettes per ration, with multiple rations issued daily. The British and Canadian militaries followed suit, though with slightly lower allotments .

• 📋 The K-ration contents: A typical K-ration breakfast unit included a small can of meat, biscuits, powdered coffee, sugar, and four cigarettes. The dinner unit included chewing gum and a pack of cigarettes .
• 🔥 The “C-ration” cigarette pack: C-rations (for field consumption) included a small cardboard pack of cigarettes — often Lucky Strike, Camel, or Chesterfield. These miniature packs are now collector’s items .
• ⚡ General Eisenhower’s view: General Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote to the War Department: “Tobacco is an absolute necessity. Men fight better if they have their smokes.”
• 📊 By the end of the war, over 300 billion cigarettes had been provided to US military personnel alone.

War is inherently traumatic. Soldiers faced death, injury, and the constant stress of combat. Cigarettes provided a small, familiar comfort — a moment of normalcy in an abnormal world.

• 😔 Stress relief: Nicotine is an anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) in the short term. For soldiers under fire, a cigarette calmed trembling hands and quieted racing thoughts.
• 🤝 Social bonding: Sharing a cigarette was a ritual of camaraderie. Soldiers smoked together, shared their last cigarette, and built trust around a small flame.
• 📬 Connection to home: Letters from home often included a few cigarettes — a tangible link to family and normalcy. Cigarettes were a taste of the world they were fighting to return to.
• 📊 A 1944 survey of US soldiers found that 94% rated cigarettes as “very important” to their morale. Only mail from home rated higher.

In prisoner-of-war camps and occupied territories, cigarettes became the de facto currency. Because they were lightweight, durable, and universally desired, cigarettes were used to buy food, medicine, information, and even freedom.

• 📦 POW camps: In German POW camps like Stalag Luft III, cigarettes were the standard currency. A few cigarettes could buy a loaf of bread, a chocolate bar, or a favor from a guard.
• 💊 Black market medicine: In occupied Europe, cigarettes were used to bribe guards, purchase stolen medical supplies, and pay for secret radio transmissions.
• 📊 The “cigarette standard”: In post-war Germany, the economy briefly ran on cigarettes. A pack of Camels could buy a coat. A carton could buy a bicycle.
• ⚖️ The captured American flyer’s story: Many downed airmen traded their daily cigarette ration for civilian clothes, maps, and safe passage — using cigarettes to bribe their way to freedom.

Canada’s tobacco industry mobilized for war just as completely as its munitions factories. Cigarette sales to the military were a patriotic act, and civilians were encouraged to send smokes overseas.

• 📦 Canadian rations: The Canadian military provided up to 5 cigarettes per day to each soldier, supplemented by private donations.
• 🎗️ “Smokes for Soldiers” campaigns: The Canadian government and the Red Cross organized massive drives to collect cigarettes for overseas troops. Citizens were asked to “send a pack to a soldier” as a patriotic duty.
• 🏭 Imperial Tobacco Canada’s war production: Imperial Tobacco Canada converted part of its production to military contracts, producing millions of cigarettes for the Canadian Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• 📬 Canadian soldiers’ letters home: Archives are filled with letters from soldiers thanking family members for sending cigarettes. “The best thing you can send me is a carton of Players,” wrote one corporal.
• 📊 By the end of the war, the Canadian government had purchased over 1.5 billion cigarettes for its troops.

The war was a marketing bonanza for tobacco companies. By providing free cigarettes to millions of young men, the industry created lifetime brand loyalty.

• 🎯 The “brand imprint” strategy: Tobacco executives understood that if they could get a soldier smoking their brand in the war, he would likely remain loyal for decades.
• 📦 “Cigarettes are cheap. Soldiers are precious.” — Lucky Strike’s wartime slogan, which framed cigarette donations as a patriotic act.
• 📊 The results: After the war, smoking rates exploded. By 1955, 58% of Canadian adults smoked — a direct legacy of wartime distribution.
• ⚖️ The ethical cost: While the industry presented itself as patriotic, internal documents later revealed that executives knew cigarettes were addictive and harmful — but they kept quiet.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order declaring tobacco “an essential war material.” This meant that tobacco farmers and manufacturing workers were exempt from the draft, and tobacco production received priority for transportation and raw materials.

• 📜 The order’s text: “Tobacco is an indispensable commodity in the maintenance of civilian and military morale.”
• 🔥 The controversy: Some politicians argued that the order was a gift to the tobacco industry. But with soldiers demanding smokes, the White House held firm.
• 🚬 Canada followed suit: The Canadian government also exempted tobacco farmers and factory workers from military service, recognizing the importance of maintaining cigarette production.

The war had a lasting impact on Canadian smoking habits. By 1955, smoking rates had soared to 58% of the adult population — a peak that would not be reached again.

• 📊 Women began smoking in greater numbers: The war brought women into the workforce, and with them came smoking. By 1965, 45% of Canadian women under 35 smoked.
• 📦 Brand loyalty entrenched: The brands soldiers smoked during the war — Player’s, Export ‘A’, Camel — remained dominant for decades.
• 💀 The health cost: The men who survived the war faced a new enemy in peacetime: lung cancer, heart disease, and emphysema. The wartime cigarette habit killed far more veterans than enemy fire.
• 📉 The long decline: It took 50 years of public health advocacy to undo the damage. Today, smoking rates are 12% — but the legacy of wartime smoking persists in the health records of aging veterans.

Today, many Canadian veterans and other smokers have switched to native cigarettes (Playfare, Canadian, DuMont, Nexus, Rolled Gold) for their affordability. A carton costs $29-50 — compared to $140-180 for commercial brands — a savings of 70-80%.

• 💰 Cost savings: A pack-a-day smoker saves $5,000-7,000 per year by switching to native cigarettes.
• 🚫 Not “healthier”: Native cigarettes contain the same nicotine, tar, and carcinogens as commercial brands. The only difference is price and packaging.
• 📦 Online delivery: Cigstore.ca ships to every province and territory with $29 flat shipping (free over $290).
• 🎖️ For veterans who continue to smoke, native cigarettes are the most affordable option. But the best way to honour the sacrifice of those who fought is to quit entirely.